Will l



2 sheetssheeb 1. W. L. HAYES & LLW JERNBERG.

APPARATUSPOR TREATING WIRE, 6x0.

Patented Mar. 16, 1897.

(No Mo del.)

(No Model.) I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. L. HAYES & L W JBRNBERG.

APPARATUS FOR TREATING WIRE, 8:0.

No. 578,819. Patented Mar. 16, 1897.

WITNESSES:

. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILL L. HAYES AND LAUREN CE W. JERNBERG, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO; SAIDJERNBERG ASSIGNOR TO SAID HAYES.

APPARATUS FOR TREATING WIRE, 84,0.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 578,819, dated March16, 1897. Application filed April 29, 1896. Serial No. 589,541. (Nomodel.)

T0 at whom, it may concern:

Be it known that We, WILL L. HAYES and LAURENCE W. J ERNBERG, citizensof the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Ouyahogaand State of Ohio, have invented or discovered certain new and usefulImprovements in Apparatus for Treating l/Vire, &c., of whichimprovements the following is a specification.

In Letters Patent No. 465,700, dated December 22, 1891, an apparatus isdescribed and claimed for the purpose of placing articles, such asbundles of wire, in a treatingbath, moving the articles along such bath,transferring them to an adjoining bath, and so on throughout the entireseries of baths. An apparatus for this purpose consists generally of thefollowing baths: strong acid, water, weak acid, water, hot water, and acoating-bath. It is generally preferred to begin the treatment of smallgage wire at the weak-acid bath, and for some purposes the wire shouldnot be passed through the coating-bath. In the apparatus set forthin theLetters Patent referred to provision is made for charging the bundles ofwire only at the front end of the apparatus, and when once started thebundle must continue its onward movement through all of the baths.

The object of this invention is to provide the charging and removal ofbundles of wire at any point or points intermediate of the ends. 7 r

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 is a top plan View of the apparatus. Fig. 2 is a side elevationof the same. Figs. 3- and 4 are transverse sections on the plane of theline w 00, looking in the direction of the arrows on b,

respectively. Fig. 5 is 'a detailed view, on an enlarged scale, of oneof the supporting-hooks of the carrying mechanism.

As described in the Letters Patent No. 465,700, a series of vats 1 1 1,&c., are arranged in a row, one behind the other, and standards 2 2 2*,&c., provided with bearings at their upper ends, are arranged at thefront and rear ends of the first and last vats and between theintermediate vats. In the bearings on these standards are mounted theshafts of the lifters 3 3 3 &c., which may be constructed in either ofthe forms set forth in the Letters Patent, but are preferably made inthe form of gear-wheels provided with pockets 9, pivotally mounted onthe inner perimeters of the wheels and so constructed and hung as toalways assume a vertical position. The gear-wheels or lifters arepreferably driven by pinions on annular shafts, which are in turn drivenby a main shaft extending along the line of vats.

The bundles of Wire are arranged on a bar 10, which is supported bylinks 11, depending from the shaft 12 and. placed on a table or platform34, movable in between the pair of wheels forming the lifter at thefront end of the apparatus, so that the ends of the shaft 12 will comeinto the path of movement of the pockets 9. As the pockets are carriedaround they engage the ends of the shaft and carry it and the bundles upand backwardly and place the support-wheels 13 of the shaft on the rails14, arranged on top of or alongside of the vats whose ends projectwithin the peripheries of the wheels forming the lifters at each end ofvthe vats. The bundles are carried along the vats by endless chains 16,arranged in guide troughs or channels 19, and provided withupwardly-projecting dogs, which bear against the shafts 12, causing themto move along their rails and drag the bundles through the vats. Theshaft 12 with its depending bundles is moved along the vats to the endsof the vats, from which it is lifted by the pockets of the lifter at theend of the vat.

An apparatus such as described generally consists of six vatscontaining, respectively, strong acid, water, weak acid, water, hotwater, and a coating mixture, but heretofore no provision is madewhereby wire may be introduced into or removed from the apparatus atintermediate points.

In order to effect the intermediate introduction of the bundles ofwire,- they are connected to a shaft 12, as hereinbefore described, andplaced upon a table or platform 35, which is arranged at any desiredpoint alongside being raised and lowered.

the apparatus and is preferably raised by a fluid-pressure cylinder andpiston sufficiently far to permit the hooks 36 to engage the shaft 12.These hooks are suspended from wheels 37, mounted on a rail 38,extending from the platform 35 over the line of vat-s, as shown in Fig.3. This rail is suspended from trolleys 39', mounted on rails 40,arranged parallel with the line of vats. As soon as the hooks engage theshaft 12 the platform is lowered and the hooks carrying the shaft andbundles are moved along the rail 38 until in line with the vats. Therail 38 is then shifted laterally on its support until the ends of theshaft 12 is in the path of movement of the pockets 9 on one pair oflifters. As these pockets come around the shaft is lifted from the hooksand carried along by the pockets and placed on the rails of the nextvat, the bundles entering said vat. In the construction shown thisintermediate charging mechanism is arranged to place a shaft 12 with itsbundle of wires on the lifting mechanism immediately in front of theweak-acid bath, but may be located at any other desired point.

By reversing the hooks the mechanism might be employed for removing ashaft with its bundles from the lifters, the hooks being shifted intothe line of downward movement of the pockets, but it is preferred toemploy the construction shown in Fig. 4 for that purpose, as in suchconstruction provision is made for carrying the bundles along to the endof the treating apparatus or to another portion of the plant. Thisremoving mechanism, which in the present case is located in suitablerelation to the pair of lifters employed for transferring the bundles ofwire to the hot-water bath, consists of an axially-r0- tatable mast 41,having a horizontal projecting arm 41 from which hooks 42 are suspendedin such manner as to permit of their In the construction shown the hooksare suspended by a wire rope 43, passing over a guide-pulley on the arm41* and connected to the piston-rod of a fluid-pressure cylinder 44.When it is desired to remove a bundle of wires for the purpose ofcoating the wire with metal or for other purposes, the crane is swungaround until the hooks 42 will lie in the path of the bundle-carryingshafts on the lifterS, so that as the shafts are moving down the hooks42 will engage therewith, and as the lifter continues its movement thepockets will drop away from the shaft, whereupon the crane can be swungaround and the bundles deposited on atruck or the floor of the mill.

When it is desired to transfer the bundles of wire to the receivingtable 48 without passing them through the vats 1 and 1 a trolley 46,mounted on rails arranged above and in line ..with the treatingapparatus, is

moved along its rails until the hooks 45 can be-brought into engagementwith a bundlecarrying shaft, which will be left suspended on the hooks45 as the lifter 8 continues its movement. The trolley is shifted alongits supporting-rails by an endless band 49, passing over pulleys, one ofwhich is positively driven in any suitable manner. In order to preventthe hooks 45 from engaging any of the bundle-carrying shafts on thelifters 3 and 3" as it is moved back to position over the lifter 3, thehooks are reversed, as shown in Fig. 2, and are pivotally connected toarms 45, depending from the trolley 46, so as to pass freely over anyshafts on the lifters 3 and 3 If desired,the rails maybe extended to anyportion of the mill.

It willbe readily understood that this mechanism can be employed forcharging bundles into the apparatus, the hooks 42 on the crane beingemployed to transfer the shaft and its bundles from the hooks 45 to thepockets on one of the lifters. By the use of these charging and removingmechanisms bundles of wire can be placed in and removed from theapparatus without in any way interfering with its normal operation.

' lVe claim herein as our invention- 1. In an apparatus for treatingwire, &c., the combination of a series of two or more vats,mechanism forreceiving abundle of wire at a point outside of the first vat anddepositing it in the same, mechanism for shifting a bundle along thevats, mechanism for transferring the bundle from one vat to the nextsucceeding vat, mechanism for lifting a bundle from the last Vat of theseries and depositing it at a point outside of the vat, and mechanismfor placing a bundle of wire in the apparatus at an intermediate point,substantially as set forth. a

2. In an apparatus for treating wire, &c., the combination of a seriesof two or more vats, mechanism for receiving a bundle of wire at a pointoutside of the first vat and depositing it in the same, mechanism fortransferring the bundle from one vat to the next succeeding vat,mechanisms for shifting the bundle along the vats, mechanism for liftinga bundle from the last vat of the series and depositing it at a pointoutside of the vat,

and mechanism for removing a bundle from the apparatus at anintermediate point, substantially as set forth.

3. In an apparatus for treating wire, &c., the combination of a seriesof two or more vats, mechanism for transferring a bundle of wire fromone vat to the next succeeding vat, a vertically-movable platformarranged at one side of the transferring mechanism and a carrying devicemovable in two directions, at right angles, and parallel to thedirection of movement of the transfer mechanism, substantially as setforth.

4. In an apparatus for treating wire, &c., the combination of a seriesof two or more vats, mechanism for transferring a bundle of In testimonywhereof We have hereunto set our hands.

WILL L. HAYES, LAURENCE W. JERNBERG. Witnesses: 4 T. L. HOPKINS, W. C.MARTIN.

Wire from one vat to the next succeeding vat, an elevated carryingmechanism provided with hooks, said carrying mechanism being so arrangedthat its hooks may be shifted into engagement with abnndle of Wire Whilesupported by thetransfer mechanism, substantially as set forth.

